1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless networks and more particularly to load balancing in wireless networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, as the load increases, the effective radio access bearer (RAB) coverage becomes smaller due to increases in noise (i.e., interference). The use of multiple carrier frequencies within a particular cell increases the number of users that the particular cell can support. Currently, in order to offload a carrier, one solution used by network operators is called Inter-Frequency Load Sharing, which is based on a power leveling-out approach. The approach diverts incoming traffic in a cell from a more loaded carrier to a less loaded carrier based on power. Once a first carrier reaches a threshold loading, based on power measurements by nodeB, the second carrier is then used. NodeB is a term used in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) for what was commonly referred to as the base transceiver station (BTS) in GSM networks. Thus, nodeB is the network node controlled by the radio network controller (RNC) that communicates over an air interface with user equipment (UE). As shown in FIG. 1, when the first carrier is reaching its capacity limits, the first carrier (which is on a different frequency than the second carrier) has a smaller effective traffic area 101 and may provide poorer quality as compared to the second carrier, which is very lightly loaded (or not loaded at all) and has a larger effective traffic area 103.